Dominguez lauds BIR's digital tax reforms
Published Jun 23, 2020 12:00 am
By Richa Noriega
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has lauded the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for its ongoing digital transformation efforts that improved services to taxpayers.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
(TOTO LOZANO / Presidential Photo / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) In a statement on Monday, Dominguez said that the digitally enhanced administrative reforms being undertaken by the BIR are now beginning to pay off by way of significantly improving the country's tax effort from 13 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015 to 14.5 percent of GDP in 2019. While the government expects lower revenue collection this year due to COVID-19 pandemic, Dominguez said the country can count on its strong macroeconomic fundamentals and increased use of digital technologies for quick return to the path of high growth once the global health crisis is over. “The BIR has improved internal processes, raised efficiency levels, and delivered much convenience to our clients — the taxpayers. The men and women of the BIR deserve to be congratulated for all that has been achieved so far,” the Finance secretary said. Dominguez underscored that the BIR is well prepared for the onset of the “new normal” way of contactless transactions, with the digital transformation process it has set into motion as the standard for all other government agencies to emulate. “I am confident that more improvements are in store because the Bureau has also demonstrated the ambition and commitment that are key to any successful digitalization reform,” he added. The Bureau launched the Hack-A-Tax Innovation competition in October last year, led by BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay, among members of the Information Technology (IT), and software development community including students, startups, and young developers to come up with front-end applications that will facilitate digital taxpayer transactions with the Bureau. Dominguez said the Hack-A-Tax challenge is “emblematic of the Bureau’s achievements in digital transformation and of how it seeks to continue to innovate to improve both tax administration and the taxpayer experience.” “The taxes that BIR collects are critical to fueling our economic recovery. These will help fund our massive infrastructure investments that will create jobs for our people and increase spending on education and health care to improve the competitiveness of our workforce,” he added.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III(TOTO LOZANO / Presidential Photo / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) In a statement on Monday, Dominguez said that the digitally enhanced administrative reforms being undertaken by the BIR are now beginning to pay off by way of significantly improving the country's tax effort from 13 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015 to 14.5 percent of GDP in 2019. While the government expects lower revenue collection this year due to COVID-19 pandemic, Dominguez said the country can count on its strong macroeconomic fundamentals and increased use of digital technologies for quick return to the path of high growth once the global health crisis is over. “The BIR has improved internal processes, raised efficiency levels, and delivered much convenience to our clients — the taxpayers. The men and women of the BIR deserve to be congratulated for all that has been achieved so far,” the Finance secretary said. Dominguez underscored that the BIR is well prepared for the onset of the “new normal” way of contactless transactions, with the digital transformation process it has set into motion as the standard for all other government agencies to emulate. “I am confident that more improvements are in store because the Bureau has also demonstrated the ambition and commitment that are key to any successful digitalization reform,” he added. The Bureau launched the Hack-A-Tax Innovation competition in October last year, led by BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay, among members of the Information Technology (IT), and software development community including students, startups, and young developers to come up with front-end applications that will facilitate digital taxpayer transactions with the Bureau. Dominguez said the Hack-A-Tax challenge is “emblematic of the Bureau’s achievements in digital transformation and of how it seeks to continue to innovate to improve both tax administration and the taxpayer experience.” “The taxes that BIR collects are critical to fueling our economic recovery. These will help fund our massive infrastructure investments that will create jobs for our people and increase spending on education and health care to improve the competitiveness of our workforce,” he added.